Notes from the Bunker (P. 3 of 3)

The realities of lock-down during this pandemic has affected many people in different ways. Personally, my trip to the grocery store today, lifted my spirits, noticing that merely being around people, has become a major event. This little bright spot, however, has not decreased my cynicism about the planet in general. Governments continue to lie, and war remains good business.

When I watched the U.S Secretary of State yesterday, spouting on and on about the evils of Venezuela, demanding the U.S., invade to re-establish “democracy”, turned my stomach. Everything out of this man's mouth was a deliberate lie. President Maduro is not a drug lord, and indeed he won the presidency with 80% of the vote. As many informed people understand, Venezuela is an oil rich country, one of the richest in the world. Pompeo is a self-declared liar along with the rest of the Trump administration. This sword rattling, claiming to want “democracy” in Venezuela, is utter propaganda. To be sure, many people on social media compared this dishonest ramblings to Bush's claim of WMD's in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq was purely a economic exercise, where millions of innocents died; where many elites, made millions, including Vice President Cheney. I guess there are a few people out there who've woken up to this war propaganda, but truly not near enough.

What we see happening in the U.S. in response to Covid 19, has been revealing on many levels. It has been revealed that the government does not care for its citizens. First a denial of the virus, then chattering clap-trap that it was under control; blaming the Chinese, and a stimulus package of 4 trillion, given to the banks and corporations while the working class got basically nothing. The United States is the only developed country without universal health care. The U.S. people can literally not afford to get sick. If they do, they lose their jobs and insurance, and left flapping in the wind with no support. The world is watching this transpire, and really, it's unacceptable for the wealthiest country on the planet.

In Australia, the federal and state governments seem to have responded, in a productive manner, to Covid 19. All of us followed the lock-down and social distancing orders. We have universal health care, and have been given $ in our bank accounts to weather the storm. Like the rest of the planet, the population is biting at the bit to go back to work and the beach. The only “hiccup” is the tracing app that the government requires us to download on our smart phones. When this was introduced, there was enough of a blow-back, that the government made the app voluntary – and that's fine with me. As discussed in p2 of this blog, a tracing app is another form of control, and a flagrant breach of our privacy rights. I find it unbelievable that at least 9 million people has chosen to down load the app. That said, many people trust our government, while many of us simply do not. Too many lies, financial rorts, and parliamentary backstabbing. But maybe, that's just me.

The United States of Corporation's main economic driving force is based on War. Since WWII, at least, it has been a war-based economy. For the sake of the planet this must change. A discussion for another time.

Stay safe.